cisnormativity is not the same thing as or equal to explicit transphobia. cissexism, gender stereotypes/identity informed by binary cisnormative ideals and theories of sexism based on those without including the trans narrative don't help to normalize transness, and could contribute to its erasure in wider conversations, but they do not contribute to the explicit oppression of or 'phobia' of transgender peoples. the reality is cisgenderism is the norm, the common, the overwhelming majority, and conversations in the cis world about things such as gender, sexism, x-"envy" can exist without being centred around transgender people and still not be necessarily harmful to them. pick your battles.
Honestly, I can't pronounce cissexism. An earlier draft was more precise, but I made it a little inaccurate so I could pronounce it. I think the spirit is still on point.
Yea Glory is not a transman metaphor At all. Or the transformations between the first are not transgender transformation they’re transformation between characters. This is stupid and pulling at strings
Just be honest ffs. You’re reaching to make yourself feel better and that you’ve accomplished something for the trans community. Looking for something to be mad at.
This is well researched but you are way off base on a lot of it, reading too much into some of these episodes and events. For example, the reference to Earshot, it's not fear of being trans that Buffy and Willow are horrified by, it's the fear of a change to something that they are not or aren't used to. These are teenagers after all, and Buffy has lived her whole life a girl, why wouldn't she be horrified at the thought of becoming anything else? Especially if it's a fate she did not choose.
@waldoxavier1074 In episode 18 of season 3, Buffy gained telepathy, which was the aspect of the demon, because what aspect means part or feature of something?
"Buffy is special, we're told, not because of creativity... But because she has female reproductive organs." That's utter lunacy!!! Any true fan of the show knows that Buffy is special because a) she was CHOSEN to be a slayer, thus making her naturally gifted and special. And b) because of what she DOES with those gifts and responsibilities. Buffys story is special because of her ACTIONS and because of those who she aligns herself with. A vampire with a soul, a powerful witch, countless loved ones. A famous vampire slayer killer. Because of her strength and her Weaknesses. I really think your take is so so harmful and way off base.
This was my immediate opinion as well but then I watched the video and it has validity. I suspect you made this comment without first watching the entire video.
"Buffy is special, we're told, not because of creativity... But because she has female reproductive organs." "That's utter lunacy!!! Any true fan of the show knows that Buffy is special because a) she was CHOSEN to be a slayer, thus making her naturally gifted and special. And b) because of what she DOES with those gifts and responsibilities. Buffys story is special because of her ACTIONS and because of those who she aligns herself with. A vampire with a soul, a powerful witch, countless loved ones. A famous vampire slayer killer. Because of her strength and her Weaknesses. I really think your take is so so harmful and way off base." you tell them shyvonne, you tell them. Also the only people who would have a problem with Buffy being female are misogynistic pigs (women can be misiogynictic against their own gender too, and there are chicks who hate the thought of the protag being female) who hate the thought of a female protag and that the chosen one in this show is always a female. Also, what the fuck is the OP on about with this "female reproductive organs"? It seems that the Op is not only misogynistic, but also think that it's about "Buffy is special cause she can reproduce" which is bullshit. Buffy can't even keep a boyfriend for an extended period of time because of her dangerous lifestyle, her relationship with Angel couldn't last forever for reasins mentioned in season 3, and Buffy's not very likely to ever have offsprings. The only slayer we know who had an offspring hated herself for endangering her child's life and died hiding and protecting her son, she died killed in self-defense by the vampire she was trying to slay (and as Spike said, no one twisted her arm and forced her to be a slayer, she made that choice). Do slayers really expect that vampires will just lay down and die? That's not how it works. The OP has everything wrong. They're probably a radical-Left wokist who sees transphobia and bigotry everywhere. That's the pot calling the kettle black considering the OP is a misogynist who has a probelm with a protag being female and every generation there being a chosen one who is always female and the OP calls that "transphobic". If it was a boys' club where each generation there's a male hero and always a boy, the OP would be cool with it. But a girls' club for once? Oh we can't have that. A radical-Left wokist who see transphobia where there isn't any. And the radical-Left is just as bad as the radical-Right. All radicalism is evil and cancer on society.
@@michelled.4874 The person who did this video is massively over thinking this show its just a female driven vampire franchise the shit ain't that deep lol.
As a trans person, iv never once felt that Buffy was transphobic at all. You are reaching ALOT on these points and I don't think this is the right battle for you to pick. You aren't as mentally equipped as you think you are to make these points. Buffy was always an inclusive show for the time it was made. Could it have been better? Sure. Could there be more representation? Sure. But transphobic? Im sorry but you are on your own over there, as I said, im a trans person and I have never found Buffy to be transphobic at all. Joss Weddon? Sure, he's a dick, the cast have even outed him as a dick. The show itself? Nah.
I'm sorry this really is NOT it. At all. There's so much reaching going on. You're taking alot of the storylines and making them into something they're not. There are ALOT of transphobic stories within earlier shows, friends for example stinks of homophobia and transphobia. The personal lives or thoughts of the creators may sink into the art they create. But with Buffy, it rarely does. And your views on feminism within the show. They are not 2nd wave. Its not girl boss energy. Its about bringing power and liberation to ALL women.
Yes!!! Literally the last episode where all women and girls were awoken to their potential. A beautiful strong message for teens like me when I was younger. And it grinds my gears that this video goes out of its way to twist the meaning behind this show just to fit their narrative.
they're just mad because it's not about men in dresses and the fact that wearing lipstick and other products is what rEALLY makes you a woman! ew Joss focused on the fact that Buffy had FEMALE PARTS, not that she wore LIPSTICK and that men in dresses wearing lipstick never became slayers. oh the horror. open your eyes to the fact that all trans activists want to erase femaleness as the defining factor of womanhood. ALL OF THEM. this person hates female people and wants to center dicks.
This was a really interesting video but I do think a lot of these points are reaching an awful lot. The First Evil’s transformations aren’t depicted as more horrifying when they’re transgender, I don’t know where you got that from to be honest. Willow transforming letterman jacket guy’s body against his will IS bad, not because she wanted to turn him into a cis woman but because she was doing it without his knowledge or consent. However I do like the idea that trans people in the buffyverse can have witches perform gender-affirming changes to their bodies without going through the often difficult process of getting surgery! And I found your perspective on Ben/Glory really interesting, I hadn’t thought of it that way
So buffy lore is transphobic bc it leaves out trans women. But if you follow the true lore of the show a trans man could be activated as a slayer if it is in fact a chromosomal based power. Lets not forget trans gender doesnt only mean male to female.
This is ridiculous. You’re wayyy reaching. Whedon has issues but was genuinely unhappy with how the movie came out but even so you’re still reaching especially if you are speaking of the show. Society changes over time. Social norms change. The way people think changes due to us becoming more aware of ourselves and others over time. It may not be as perfect as some want but it’s certainly not harmful towards any group. Also I always saw Lorne on Angel (I know it’s a different show but s spin-off that’s on on the same time with the same creators) as trans. I could be wrong but if you see his family and they way they all (females and males) act more masculine than him and don’t allow singing and he gets away and sings and dresses very smart and acts more feminine. It could be a metaphor for being gay or just being different from the social norms (he’s also a Good demon which is also more rare) or it could be just in my own imagination and theres nothing wrong with that. That’s what the shows about. Next you’ll say Xena is queer-baiting.
As a trans person and Buffy fan, since season two was airing, growing increasingly disillusioned with Whedon, I really appreciate the work you put into this. Thank you.
Willow turning into Warren was clearly because he is who killed her partner and the one person she killed, pretty much the worst person she could be transformed into, I'm not really convinced there was anything more to it. Also the First changing appearances was simply going backwards through the Big Bads. Warren (S6), Glory (S5), Adam (S4), mayor (S3), Drusilla (S2), Master (S1), Buffy. I see what you're saying, but I don't think the attempt was anything more than going backwards. When it turns its form into the Master, there is even a line about going back to the start or where it all began or something along those lines. Interesting vid though, enjoyed it. :)
Because a lot of those kinds of feminists/terfs don't view it as "reducing women to their organs", they are knee-jerk responding to a traumatic societal attitude/belief/behavior that sees cis women and everything associated with them and their biology as "lesser" by taking the opposite route and elevating these things associated with womanhood and femininity, in an attempt to empower themselves and to derive self worth and confidence from these things. In doing so, unfortunately it does often come across as simply centering women's reproductive organs. I am not a terf, but I definitely used to think like one before realizing how erroneous, and damaging, that view was. There is something to be said about the dangers of outright erasure of language that is specific to the struggles of cis women and cis girls, without also dismissing, denying, and harming trans people when they are excluded from the conversation, and their own struggles as well.
no actual feminist does this. but trans activists are, by calling us uterus havers. only one type of person has a uterus - women. be mad all you want. some women's uteruses work and they can give birth and some don't but they are still women. men who want to be women are not women. be mad.
Bleh. Couldn’t finish. Buffy wasn’t about feminism. It was about turning tables. It was about expecting the unexpected. Along those same lines, main characters were surprisingly killed off when least expected. The very first scene in the very first episode should have clued the audience in that expect the unexpected was definitely a theme You’re trying too hard
they're just mad the show is about females and not men in dresses demanding access to womanhood. that's all it is. anything that centers female and not men who THINK they are female is not "feminist" now, so says the men in dresses.
hi! so as a nonbinary person, and a long-time fan of buffy, i appreciate this video (and im interacting in hopes i get more queer-focused videos on btvs in my feed). i do agree that a lot of the show is intentionally transphobic through the influence of whedon and the other writers. however, i'm not sure that every instance of gender-bending in the show is as focused on presenting being trans or gnc as the actual issue. for example, in regards to the first's gender-bending supposedly being a monstrous facet of it: it's literally the concept of evil itself, it wouldn't make sense to assign any binary gender to it. evil can live in anything or anyone. i think this also applies to illyria: the being is referred to by the others as he/him, but you even describe it yourself as an eldritch being. illyria is beyond gender and thus i don't think it would make a difference to illyria if it inhabited a man or a woman. another point is the situation with willow trying to change the guy with the letter jacket into a girl: i would say that the issue isn't so much that she's changing his gender, rather than that she's altering him in such a huge way without his knowledge or consent (and thus violating his bodily autonomy). that said, it was interesting (and disheartening) to learn about billy, and the enduring transphobia present in the comics. i'd also forgotten a lot about the movie, and i'm definitely glad they left the menstrual powers behind lol. anyways thanks for the video, it's left me with lots to think about!
I haven't read any of Joss' comics (and this essay definitely makes me feel better about not doing so). From what this essay has told me about the Fray comic, it sounds toxic AF for *all* men (cis and trans). WTF kind of a message is "if you are a man and you are given the slayer powers - you will start your villain journey because you can't handle or be trusted with power." It would have been far more interesting to see Fray's twin have "weaker" slayer powers because she's a trans woman...thus maintaining the connection of "slayer powers are for afab bodies only" while also providing trans representation. It would be really cool if the route of "slayer powers are for women only because it's a fictional universe - don't read too much into it" were taken, along with a trans woman getting her slayer powers, and those powers being part of a journey towards womanhood & part of gender euphoria. That being said - that's perhaps not a toxic enough message to deliver to men for the creator who decided slayer powers come from rape & cis gendered men cannot be trusted to have any kind of power whatsoever.
I found information from some people who claimed that Illyria identifies as female in the comics, I have never read the comics, but if this is true and if the comics are a continuation of the TV series Angel then Illyria is not a male being.
I just discovered your video. Some things seems far fetched. But it makes reevaluate Season 5 and the Ben/Glory story arc. I'm reading "night of the living rerun" and Xander is really problematic.
Wow...you really are just reaching here. If you wanted to make a critical analysis video that would have been more believable then the obvious one is the lesbian trope that Joss Whedon started when he killed off Tara...
I Was interested in your take and this video is well made and entertaining. Your essay is well written. But I have to say your armguments are very large stretches.
I am transgender. Buffy the vampire is not explicitly transphobic sure it has very few small themes that I'd you read into them can be seen as transphobic but it obviously isn't
thank you so much for this video!! buffy is one of my biggest comfort shows but it has some major issues omg i really hope theyre gonna come through with the reboot!!
Back when this show was on air there was none of this trans stuff in society. No one even talked about any of this back then. If you asked anyone to do with this show or anyone on the street they wouldn't have had any idea what you were talking about. This whole trans or gender identity thing is a new thing that is only a few years old or since social media came about.
this was definitely super interesting and I'm so glad you made this video!!! I had already picked up on a lot of things you mentioned but it gave me an entirely different perspective on and made me completely re-think the whole Ben/Glory thing I don't think I agree with you in regards to The First's transformations being a directly transphobic metaphor, or at least not every time it does a "trans" body shift. a couple of the instances you mentioned where shifting gender was the horror I'd honestly say the gender shift is MUCH overshadowed by the character relationships of the character The First shifted into, such as it shifting from Buffy to Spike, also when it was going "all over the place" in Lessons, it was specifically going through previous seasons big bads, Warren (se6), Glory (se5), Adam (se4), Mayor Wilkins (se3), the only kinda questionable one is Drusilla to the The Master as the transformation there was indeed supposed to be a shock from Spike's former lover who arguably isn't even the biggest bad from se2 (Angel sticks in my head more in that role) to The Master, though he'd always be next in line as the first big bad and as The Master it even says "back to the beginning" and then I don't think the horror of The First transforming into Buffy finally was that it was switching genders, but rather that this huge evil that we know is evil because it was turning into all of the shows villains decided to end it's shapeshifting party with the face of the shows hero I think there's probably a couple of transformations that are at least a little suspect knowing the views of the writers, but I also feel like it's more because of their views that we know that the scenes feel suspect than them being inherently transphobic imagery, especially since unlike the Ben/Glory duality where a woman is trapped inside a mans body, everyone The First turns into is a fully and entirely separate established character
Anne Rice’s vampires are NOT goody goody. Far far from it. They are seriously flawed characters prone to extreme violence, lying and immaturity. That’s what makes the books so interesting. Go read some of Anne Rice’s books and get back to us on this topic.
i'm having trouble believing that those 3 dislikes actually took the time to sit and watch the whole video. i myself am only a few minutes in but i am already very intrigued
Watching the show, I just thought it was a bit cisnormative, but seeing it all laid out, especially w/ the context of Whedon’s transmisogyny (and just regular misogyny, for that matter), is a really good portrait of a lot of the transphobic tropes in fantasy fiction. I’m a big Buffy fan and also a trans woman, and having to come to terms with a lot of the problematic shit that persists in the show (its portrayal of POC, wild age gaps, Whedon himself) is something I’ve definitely had to deal with, but this isn’t something I had really thought about much until now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, this is a really well-made video!
I am a buffy fan and if they make a reboot or whatever without Buffy or with buffy but not as the character I know I wont watch. I would rather watch the original. Not something that has been ruined by the social justice warriors.
Of course, I split this off from what was going to be a much longer video. I'll want to produce the rest in one or two other videos. (Thanks for the Patreon support! )
@@GoingRampant Oh Goody! Even More To Look Forward To! :-D And needless to say, you're more than welcome. This video and your "Fear Street" reviews alone are more than worth our support. ^_^
This is bizarre. It is just a show that is headed by a female. Which is really great because Joss Whedon said that there was always that blonde girl screaming and in danger in horror movies and he wanted to show some thing different. He wanted to show that female being powerful and strong in horror. Why do you need to analyse it in this great depth?
@janetmennel7834 In episode 18 of season 3, Buffy gained telepathy, which was the aspect of the demon, because what aspect means part or feature of something?
This video was incredible. The level of depth and respect to the material you brought was downright academic. Your Dracula comparisons were inspired. Your entire framing of the subject via Whedon's concept of womb envy made your overall argument easy to follow. Like the best analyses as soon as your interpretation clicked into place it seemed so obvious that I can't believe I hadn't noticed some of this stuff before. If anything it made me realize that I personally have picked up TERFish tendencies unknowingly just through my engagement with feminism. People in the comment section need to realize that its okay to criticize something we love. If your brother was an evil man, would it not be your responsibility to confront him about it, and yet you still love him. Anyway, I fucking loved your video.
The people who dont care about transphobia will say youre reaching and to just get over it. Thank you so much for making this video!!! You dont have to agree with someones take to appreciate the analysis they put forward
If this's the case, then that series really is a good one, ethically-speaking; as far as opposing things like cross-dressing and that kind of gender-confused nonsense overall.
it doesnt oppose it, it just doesnt talk about it bc back then men in dresses werent allowed to elbow their way into female spaces and opportunities. now it's totally acceptable to shit on anything centered around being female because it makes men in dresses sad that it doesnt include them or their dicks/rotpockets. thats all.
@@FeministCatwoman good thing I am not a TERF. Men can't be feminists. It is a women's liberation movement, no men need to be involved, including the ones in dresses who think they are women.
cisnormativity is not the same thing as or equal to explicit transphobia. cissexism, gender stereotypes/identity informed by binary cisnormative ideals and theories of sexism based on those without including the trans narrative don't help to normalize transness, and could contribute to its erasure in wider conversations, but they do not contribute to the explicit oppression of or 'phobia' of transgender peoples. the reality is cisgenderism is the norm, the common, the overwhelming majority, and conversations in the cis world about things such as gender, sexism, x-"envy" can exist without being centred around transgender people and still not be necessarily harmful to them. pick your battles.
Honestly, I can't pronounce cissexism. An earlier draft was more precise, but I made it a little inaccurate so I could pronounce it. I think the spirit is still on point.
Yea Glory is not a transman metaphor At all. Or the transformations between the first are not transgender transformation they’re transformation between characters. This is stupid and pulling at strings
Just be honest ffs. You’re reaching to make yourself feel better and that you’ve accomplished something for the trans community.
Looking for something to be mad at.
@@Lion-O-Richie2040 Exactlyyy. I’ve never seen someone have to stretch so much to try and make a point
This is well researched but you are way off base on a lot of it, reading too much into some of these episodes and events. For example, the reference to Earshot, it's not fear of being trans that Buffy and Willow are horrified by, it's the fear of a change to something that they are not or aren't used to. These are teenagers after all, and Buffy has lived her whole life a girl, why wouldn't she be horrified at the thought of becoming anything else? Especially if it's a fate she did not choose.
Also trans women here. I'd be dysphoric about growing a demon dick as well. It's gross as it is.
@waldoxavier1074 In episode 18 of season 3, Buffy gained telepathy, which was the aspect of the demon, because what aspect means part or feature of something?
"Anne Rice's goody goody nerdy vampires"???????? WTF have you even read the books??? RIP Anne
Edit: auto-correct error
"Buffy is special, we're told, not because of creativity... But because she has female reproductive organs."
That's utter lunacy!!! Any true fan of the show knows that Buffy is special because a) she was CHOSEN to be a slayer, thus making her naturally gifted and special. And b) because of what she DOES with those gifts and responsibilities. Buffys story is special because of her ACTIONS and because of those who she aligns herself with. A vampire with a soul, a powerful witch, countless loved ones. A famous vampire slayer killer. Because of her strength and her Weaknesses.
I really think your take is so so harmful and way off base.
I haven’t even watched and could tell this was going to be BS.
This was my immediate opinion as well but then I watched the video and it has validity. I suspect you made this comment without first watching the entire video.
"Buffy is special, we're told, not because of creativity... But because she has female reproductive organs."
"That's utter lunacy!!! Any true fan of the show knows that Buffy is special because a) she was CHOSEN to be a slayer, thus making her naturally gifted and special. And b) because of what she DOES with those gifts and responsibilities. Buffys story is special because of her ACTIONS and because of those who she aligns herself with. A vampire with a soul, a powerful witch, countless loved ones. A famous vampire slayer killer. Because of her strength and her Weaknesses.
I really think your take is so so harmful and way off base."
you tell them shyvonne, you tell them. Also the only people who would have a problem with Buffy being female are misogynistic pigs (women can be misiogynictic against their own gender too, and there are chicks who hate the thought of the protag being female) who hate the thought of a female protag and that the chosen one in this show is always a female. Also, what the fuck is the OP on about with this "female reproductive organs"? It seems that the Op is not only misogynistic, but also think that it's about "Buffy is special cause she can reproduce" which is bullshit. Buffy can't even keep a boyfriend for an extended period of time because of her dangerous lifestyle, her relationship with Angel couldn't last forever for reasins mentioned in season 3, and Buffy's not very likely to ever have offsprings. The only slayer we know who had an offspring hated herself for endangering her child's life and died hiding and protecting her son, she died killed in self-defense by the vampire she was trying to slay (and as Spike said, no one twisted her arm and forced her to be a slayer, she made that choice). Do slayers really expect that vampires will just lay down and die? That's not how it works. The OP has everything wrong. They're probably a radical-Left wokist who sees transphobia and bigotry everywhere. That's the pot calling the kettle black considering the OP is a misogynist who has a probelm with a protag being female and every generation there being a chosen one who is always female and the OP calls that "transphobic". If it was a boys' club where each generation there's a male hero and always a boy, the OP would be cool with it. But a girls' club for once? Oh we can't have that. A radical-Left wokist who see transphobia where there isn't any. And the radical-Left is just as bad as the radical-Right. All radicalism is evil and cancer on society.
@@michelled.4874 The person who did this video is massively over thinking this show its just a female driven vampire franchise the shit ain't that deep lol.
As a trans person, iv never once felt that Buffy was transphobic at all. You are reaching ALOT on these points and I don't think this is the right battle for you to pick. You aren't as mentally equipped as you think you are to make these points. Buffy was always an inclusive show for the time it was made. Could it have been better? Sure. Could there be more representation? Sure. But transphobic? Im sorry but you are on your own over there, as I said, im a trans person and I have never found Buffy to be transphobic at all. Joss Weddon? Sure, he's a dick, the cast have even outed him as a dick. The show itself? Nah.
The people who make videos like this need to go outside and touch some grass. It's like you go looking to be angry and offended. You'll get nowhere
Don't quit your day jo-
I'm sorry this really is NOT it. At all. There's so much reaching going on. You're taking alot of the storylines and making them into something they're not.
There are ALOT of transphobic stories within earlier shows, friends for example stinks of homophobia and transphobia.
The personal lives or thoughts of the creators may sink into the art they create. But with Buffy, it rarely does.
And your views on feminism within the show. They are not 2nd wave. Its not girl boss energy. Its about bringing power and liberation to ALL women.
Yes!!! Literally the last episode where all women and girls were awoken to their potential. A beautiful strong message for teens like me when I was younger. And it grinds my gears that this video goes out of its way to twist the meaning behind this show just to fit their narrative.
Hella reaching
they're just mad because it's not about men in dresses and the fact that wearing lipstick and other products is what rEALLY makes you a woman! ew Joss focused on the fact that Buffy had FEMALE PARTS, not that she wore LIPSTICK and that men in dresses wearing lipstick never became slayers. oh the horror. open your eyes to the fact that all trans activists want to erase femaleness as the defining factor of womanhood. ALL OF THEM. this person hates female people and wants to center dicks.
This was a really interesting video but I do think a lot of these points are reaching an awful lot. The First Evil’s transformations aren’t depicted as more horrifying when they’re transgender, I don’t know where you got that from to be honest. Willow transforming letterman jacket guy’s body against his will IS bad, not because she wanted to turn him into a cis woman but because she was doing it without his knowledge or consent. However I do like the idea that trans people in the buffyverse can have witches perform gender-affirming changes to their bodies without going through the often difficult process of getting surgery! And I found your perspective on Ben/Glory really interesting, I hadn’t thought of it that way
So buffy lore is transphobic bc it leaves out trans women. But if you follow the true lore of the show a trans man could be activated as a slayer if it is in fact a chromosomal based power. Lets not forget trans gender doesnt only mean male to female.
You cannot expect any tv series from the early 90s to not be problematic in some ways!
This is ridiculous. You’re wayyy reaching. Whedon has issues but was genuinely unhappy with how the movie came out but even so you’re still reaching especially if you are speaking of the show. Society changes over time. Social norms change. The way people think changes due to us becoming more aware of ourselves and others over time. It may not be as perfect as some want but it’s certainly not harmful towards any group.
Also I always saw Lorne on Angel (I know it’s a different show but s spin-off that’s on on the same time with the same creators) as trans. I could be wrong but if you see his family and they way they all (females and males) act more masculine than him and don’t allow singing and he gets away and sings and dresses very smart and acts more feminine. It could be a metaphor for being gay or just being different from the social norms (he’s also a Good demon which is also more rare) or it could be just in my own imagination and theres nothing wrong with that. That’s what the shows about.
Next you’ll say Xena is queer-baiting.
Your over thinking this series its just a Vampire horror action series driven by a female hero it aint this deep.
As a trans person and Buffy fan, since season two was airing, growing increasingly disillusioned with Whedon, I really appreciate the work you put into this. Thank you.
If that was the case you wouldn’t agree with this video.
Willow turning into Warren was clearly because he is who killed her partner and the one person she killed, pretty much the worst person she could be transformed into, I'm not really convinced there was anything more to it. Also the First changing appearances was simply going backwards through the Big Bads. Warren (S6), Glory (S5), Adam (S4), mayor (S3), Drusilla (S2), Master (S1), Buffy. I see what you're saying, but I don't think the attempt was anything more than going backwards. When it turns its form into the Master, there is even a line about going back to the start or where it all began or something along those lines. Interesting vid though, enjoyed it. :)
Wonder Woman did the hero thing way before Buffy
How can one claim to be a feminist and then reduce women to their reproductive organs like a misogynist I don't understand
Because a lot of those kinds of feminists/terfs don't view it as "reducing women to their organs", they are knee-jerk responding to a traumatic societal attitude/belief/behavior that sees cis women and everything associated with them and their biology as "lesser" by taking the opposite route and elevating these things associated with womanhood and femininity, in an attempt to empower themselves and to derive self worth and confidence from these things. In doing so, unfortunately it does often come across as simply centering women's reproductive organs.
I am not a terf, but I definitely used to think like one before realizing how erroneous, and damaging, that view was. There is something to be said about the dangers of outright erasure of language that is specific to the struggles of cis women and cis girls, without also dismissing, denying, and harming trans people when they are excluded from the conversation, and their own struggles as well.
When you bring in trans women that all the sperate s
no actual feminist does this. but trans activists are, by calling us uterus havers. only one type of person has a uterus - women. be mad all you want. some women's uteruses work and they can give birth and some don't but they are still women. men who want to be women are not women. be mad.
Bleh. Couldn’t finish. Buffy wasn’t about feminism. It was about turning tables. It was about expecting the unexpected. Along those same lines, main characters were surprisingly killed off when least expected.
The very first scene in the very first episode should have clued the audience in that expect the unexpected was definitely a theme
You’re trying too hard
they're just mad the show is about females and not men in dresses demanding access to womanhood. that's all it is. anything that centers female and not men who THINK they are female is not "feminist" now, so says the men in dresses.
Eh no it was explicitly feminist. Thats not debatable. Its literally what it is. It may be basic Liberal feminist concepts. But that's what it is.
Buffy and Angel transphobic? Now I love them even more!
😂😂😂😂😂
hi! so as a nonbinary person, and a long-time fan of buffy, i appreciate this video (and im interacting in hopes i get more queer-focused videos on btvs in my feed). i do agree that a lot of the show is intentionally transphobic through the influence of whedon and the other writers.
however, i'm not sure that every instance of gender-bending in the show is as focused on presenting being trans or gnc as the actual issue. for example, in regards to the first's gender-bending supposedly being a monstrous facet of it: it's literally the concept of evil itself, it wouldn't make sense to assign any binary gender to it. evil can live in anything or anyone. i think this also applies to illyria: the being is referred to by the others as he/him, but you even describe it yourself as an eldritch being. illyria is beyond gender and thus i don't think it would make a difference to illyria if it inhabited a man or a woman.
another point is the situation with willow trying to change the guy with the letter jacket into a girl: i would say that the issue isn't so much that she's changing his gender, rather than that she's altering him in such a huge way without his knowledge or consent (and thus violating his bodily autonomy).
that said, it was interesting (and disheartening) to learn about billy, and the enduring transphobia present in the comics. i'd also forgotten a lot about the movie, and i'm definitely glad they left the menstrual powers behind lol.
anyways thanks for the video, it's left me with lots to think about!
I haven't read any of Joss' comics (and this essay definitely makes me feel better about not doing so). From what this essay has told me about the Fray comic, it sounds toxic AF for *all* men (cis and trans). WTF kind of a message is "if you are a man and you are given the slayer powers - you will start your villain journey because you can't handle or be trusted with power."
It would have been far more interesting to see Fray's twin have "weaker" slayer powers because she's a trans woman...thus maintaining the connection of "slayer powers are for afab bodies only" while also providing trans representation. It would be really cool if the route of "slayer powers are for women only because it's a fictional universe - don't read too much into it" were taken, along with a trans woman getting her slayer powers, and those powers being part of a journey towards womanhood & part of gender euphoria.
That being said - that's perhaps not a toxic enough message to deliver to men for the creator who decided slayer powers come from rape & cis gendered men cannot be trusted to have any kind of power whatsoever.
I found information from some people who claimed that Illyria identifies as female in the comics, I have never read the comics, but if this is true and if the comics are a continuation of the TV series Angel then Illyria is not a male being.
I just discovered your video. Some things seems far fetched. But it makes reevaluate Season 5 and the Ben/Glory story arc. I'm reading "night of the living rerun" and Xander is really problematic.
Wow...you really are just reaching here. If you wanted to make a critical analysis video that would have been more believable then the obvious one is the lesbian trope that Joss Whedon started when he killed off Tara...
Womb envy is totally a real thing
By the way, did you see the interview where Amber Benson said that she would like to see a trans Tara in a possible Buffy reboot?
Do you have a link?
@@thegeekclub8810 It is in the Clexa Con 2019 panel. I would have to look up the time stamp
ua-cam.com/video/6mP69epxb1w/v-deo.html
@@thegeekclub8810 Here is the link with timestamp [52:42] ua-cam.com/video/6mP69epxb1w/v-deo.html
I didn't know about this. Thanks for sharing.
!!! That's amazing. Tara is probably my favorite character too ^^
I Was interested in your take and this video is well made and entertaining. Your essay is well written. But I have to say your armguments are very large stretches.
Everone else already covered it. You have a few good points but the majority of this is really reaching.
I am transgender. Buffy the vampire is not explicitly transphobic sure it has very few small themes that I'd you read into them can be seen as transphobic but it obviously isn't
I also think you have to separate the original film to the series.
Nothing seems safe from these people.
thank you so much for this video!! buffy is one of my biggest comfort shows but it has some major issues omg i really hope theyre gonna come through with the reboot!!
In any complex thing you can end up with multiple different analysis which each seems correct.
It must be fun being you
Back when this show was on air there was none of this trans stuff in society. No one even talked about any of this back then. If you asked anyone to do with this show or anyone on the street they wouldn't have had any idea what you were talking about. This whole trans or gender identity thing is a new thing that is only a few years old or since social media came about.
There's trans ppl from ancient tribal cultures and mythology. You just hearing about it doesn't mean its not a part of human history.
Welp, just by skimming the comments it’s clear this video is not worth my time.
Knowing that a woman is an adult human female is not bigotry.
yassss speak the truth
I never watched Buffy but if it’s transphobic then I am in
this was definitely super interesting and I'm so glad you made this video!!! I had already picked up on a lot of things you mentioned but it gave me an entirely different perspective on and made me completely re-think the whole Ben/Glory thing
I don't think I agree with you in regards to The First's transformations being a directly transphobic metaphor, or at least not every time it does a "trans" body shift. a couple of the instances you mentioned where shifting gender was the horror I'd honestly say the gender shift is MUCH overshadowed by the character relationships of the character The First shifted into, such as it shifting from Buffy to Spike, also when it was going "all over the place" in Lessons, it was specifically going through previous seasons big bads, Warren (se6), Glory (se5), Adam (se4), Mayor Wilkins (se3), the only kinda questionable one is Drusilla to the The Master as the transformation there was indeed supposed to be a shock from Spike's former lover who arguably isn't even the biggest bad from se2 (Angel sticks in my head more in that role) to The Master, though he'd always be next in line as the first big bad and as The Master it even says "back to the beginning" and then I don't think the horror of The First transforming into Buffy finally was that it was switching genders, but rather that this huge evil that we know is evil because it was turning into all of the shows villains decided to end it's shapeshifting party with the face of the shows hero
I think there's probably a couple of transformations that are at least a little suspect knowing the views of the writers, but I also feel like it's more because of their views that we know that the scenes feel suspect than them being inherently transphobic imagery, especially since unlike the Ben/Glory duality where a woman is trapped inside a mans body, everyone The First turns into is a fully and entirely separate established character
yeah so this is a reach
Trans population is less than 1% the slayer potential population is less than 1%.
The chan
HAHAHAHA ARE YOU SERIOUS OR ARE YOU TROLLING?
I also don't see how Buffy has anything to do with trans or anything this person is talking about. It was just a horror/sci fi show lead by a female.
Anne Rice’s vampires are NOT goody goody. Far far from it. They are seriously flawed characters prone to extreme violence, lying and immaturity. That’s what makes the books so interesting. Go read some of Anne Rice’s books and get back to us on this topic.
i'm having trouble believing that those 3 dislikes actually took the time to sit and watch the whole video. i myself am only a few minutes in but i am already very intrigued
Watching the show, I just thought it was a bit cisnormative, but seeing it all laid out, especially w/ the context of Whedon’s transmisogyny (and just regular misogyny, for that matter), is a really good portrait of a lot of the transphobic tropes in fantasy fiction. I’m a big Buffy fan and also a trans woman, and having to come to terms with a lot of the problematic shit that persists in the show (its portrayal of POC, wild age gaps, Whedon himself) is something I’ve definitely had to deal with, but this isn’t something I had really thought about much until now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, this is a really well-made video!
most people in this world are cis lol.
why is buffy's portrayal of POC is bad? i'm a white girl so...
and why regular misogyny? buffy is a very girls > boys show. dawn even told that to andrew in S7
The majority of people in the world are cis, do you really expect every show you watch to have a high trans population?
@@emme2141 THAT'S. NOT. THE. POINT.
I am a buffy fan and if they make a reboot or whatever without Buffy or with buffy but not as the character I know I wont watch. I would rather watch the original. Not something that has been ruined by the social justice warriors.
The long, arduous struggle to make this video was well worth it. ^_^
Of course, I split this off from what was going to be a much longer video. I'll want to produce the rest in one or two other videos. (Thanks for the Patreon support! )
@@GoingRampant Oh Goody! Even More To Look Forward To! :-D
And needless to say, you're more than welcome. This video and your "Fear Street" reviews alone are more than worth our support. ^_^
i never realised how cisnormative buffy was. thank you for this perspective!
This is bizarre. It is just a show that is headed by a female. Which is really great because Joss Whedon said that there was always that blonde girl screaming and in danger in horror movies and he wanted to show some thing different. He wanted to show that female being powerful and strong in horror. Why do you need to analyse it in this great depth?
@janetmennel7834 In episode 18 of season 3, Buffy gained telepathy, which was the aspect of the demon, because what aspect means part or feature of something?
oh... now I'm sad :(
I hope you warmed up before you reached this hard
This was really interesting, thank you for the perspective! Joss Whedon and his womb and motherhood obsession...yuck.
while motherhood isnt a requirement for womanhood, it's a big part of it and it certainly is a big part of sexism and why men target women.
“Slayers are women, because of biology”. “Why weren’t trans women slayers?!” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Girl, bye !
This video was incredible. The level of depth and respect to the material you brought was downright academic. Your Dracula comparisons were inspired. Your entire framing of the subject via Whedon's concept of womb envy made your overall argument easy to follow. Like the best analyses as soon as your interpretation clicked into place it seemed so obvious that I can't believe I hadn't noticed some of this stuff before. If anything it made me realize that I personally have picked up TERFish tendencies unknowingly just through my engagement with feminism. People in the comment section need to realize that its okay to criticize something we love. If your brother was an evil man, would it not be your responsibility to confront him about it, and yet you still love him. Anyway, I fucking loved your video.
I love this show
The people who dont care about transphobia will say youre reaching and to just get over it. Thank you so much for making this video!!! You dont have to agree with someones take to appreciate the analysis they put forward
ah shit lol. Just stop watching the show.
If this's the case, then that series really is a good one, ethically-speaking; as far as opposing things like cross-dressing and that kind of gender-confused nonsense overall.
it doesnt oppose it, it just doesnt talk about it bc back then men in dresses werent allowed to elbow their way into female spaces and opportunities. now it's totally acceptable to shit on anything centered around being female because it makes men in dresses sad that it doesnt include them or their dicks/rotpockets. thats all.
what a load of rubbish
Good job, this was an excellent video! I hadn't realized how transphobic Buffy was.
it is not omfg
It isn’t though is it…
it's not
comment for the algorithm
I’m sorry to whoever waste 40min of their lives by listening this nonsense
Oh. I won't waste my time. I am here for the comments section. TRAs are not original nor are they entertaining.
@@reverendcoffinsotherson5807 Neither are TERFs.
@@FeministCatwoman good thing I am not a TERF. Men can't be feminists. It is a women's liberation movement, no men need to be involved, including the ones in dresses who think they are women.
No one asked you to, Mr. Whedon.
Agreed. What is this nonsense?? Just another thing to whine about I guess...